Oxford research team claims low-cost photovoltaic solution

Results published in the journal Science reportedly promise to provide the lowest cost-performance photovoltaic solution on the market.

The technology makes use of a simple manufacturing process with inexpensive and abundant raw materials, and prototypes of the new Meso-Superstructured Solar Cells (MSSC) are said to have already achieved 10.9 per cent efficiency.

According to a statement, the key to this new class of solar cell technology lies in combining specifically formulated ceramics with thin films.

An MSSC can be printed directly onto glass and processed at below 150°C to produce a semi-transparent, robust layer.

Dr Henry Snaith, chief scientific officer of OPV who leads this research, said: ‘The MSSCs have proven to suffer from few losses to provide a photovoltage of 1.1V.

‘The plan is to continuously optimise MSSCs towards the goal of more than 20 per cent efficiency. But even as they are today, they will outperform anything else on the market.’

The technology has been licensed by Isis Innovation, the technology-transfer company of Oxford University, to Oxford Photovoltaics (Oxford PV), which was spun out by Isis in December 2010.